it's just like a holiday tradition

Super Bowl Sunday means football, or at least that is what it started out as in 1967. But after 36 years of evolution it has come to mean a lot more than just the game. Part of that is due to tradition, part of it is due the way the business of professional football has changed and part is also a condition of what has happened to our society.

In recent years Super Bowl Sunday has taken on similar proportions to many other holidays, even though it isn't officially one at all. For some it is a holiday; they take the week before on vacation and the week after as well. Those are usually the football groupies who follow the game every year to the city it is in, regardless of whether the teams that are playing are their favorites or not. Some even go to the city it is being held in, despite the fact they don't have tickets to the event. Instead, they and a group of their friends, sit in hotel rooms and sports bars and watch the game on television.

For some families the game is a great time to get everyone together and have some good natured fun and food. Homes across the country are filled with New Year's like parties, yet the difference is that seldom do all the people present agree on which team is best so at best it is a less loving holiday than bringing in the millennium was.

For the non-football fan there are some great diversions also. Almost always, the television stations that are not covering the game have a huge array of great movies or ice skating on them. Keep a room aside (far from the boom of the surround sound system where the game is being shown) so those who don't want to see the game or are sad because their team is getting blown out can go there and convalesce.

The other option for those who don't like to watch is to go out. Restaurants (other than sports bars) will be uncrowded, malls will be empty and the big box stores will generally have short lines. In short it can be a shopping holiday too.

Regardless it is a big day for social fun with family and friends. And just like any holiday, each family and group have their own traditions, with new kinds of fun found every year.